URL does not work

I have a simple question, I suppose. However, I couldn't find an answer in the manual or in the forum. I created a very basic survey just to test if it works. I've activated it and I got an URL for my survey. If I use this URL on my computer it works perfectly fine, however, if I give it to other people, they can't access the site. It's saying that the page might be down. Do I have to do something with the URL I got from LimeSurvey?

You install limesurvey on your workstation ?
If yes, LimeSurvey is a web services, like wordpress (or facebok) etc ....

Assistance on LimeSurvey forum and LimeSurvey core development are on my free time.
I'm not a LimeSurvey GmbH member,
professional service on demand
(or search sondages pro).
An error happen ? Before make a new topic : remind the
Debug mode
.

Assistance on LimeSurvey forum and LimeSurvey core development are on my free time.
I'm not a LimeSurvey GmbH member,
professional service on demand
(or search sondages pro).
An error happen ? Before make a new topic : remind the
Debug mode
.

I simply need an URL for the survey that I created. I got this one: http://localhost:8080/limesurvey/index.php/844664/lang-de-informal It does work on my computer, but not on others or on my mobile. How can I get an URL that works for everyone?

Assistance on LimeSurvey forum and LimeSurvey core development are on my free time.
I'm not a LimeSurvey GmbH member,
professional service on demand
(or search sondages pro).
An error happen ? Before make a new topic : remind the
Debug mode
.

As for any other web application: If you want it to be accessible to others through the internet you need to install it on a server that is accessible via the internet. Your Macbook most probably (and hopefully!!!) is NOT.

And even if it was, I don't think it is a good idea to run a production survey on a normal computer. You should rent some webspace (ideally with a proper domain) and install Limesurvey there. The local installation is good for developing the survey locally, but then you should export it and import it on the product server, that should be accessible via the internet 24/7. I am sure that you don't want your Macbook run 24/7 connected to the internet and open for access from outside.

And given that you seem to have very little knowledge on how the web and web applications work I would also recommend to go for a hosted Limesurvey service like LimeSurvey Professional (previously LimeService).com, where you don't need to worry about installing the web application, keeping it up to date, etc.

If you wan't to go the harder way and install it yourself on your own server, find a hosting company and purchase web space or a VPS and install Limesurvey there. Then upload your survey that you created locally. It is not too complicated, but you will need to do some research on the basics of how web applications based on PHP/MySQL such as Limesurvey work.

For Limesurvey you don't need these kind of skills either, if you go with a hosted version.

But for any online survey software the computer where it is installed needs to be accessible via the internet, if others should be able to respond via the internet. That is just how it works.

So the difference with another program might be, that it doesn't offer you the option to install it locally for testing or on your own server for production. Most other tools (at least the affordable ones) are SAS (Software as a service) and hosted in the cloud. This is basically what LimeSurvey Professional (previously LimeService).com offers. Have a look, the prices are OK, in my opinion.

I prefer to install it on my own server, as I can control the domain, etc. better. But for that you need to learn a little on how web applications work. Not a big deal, but the basics. Actually, when you have a webspace that supports PHP and MySQL,installation is quite easy (the installer has become quite good and where you needed to adapt configuration files some years ago, today you go trough a visual installation process).

What you also can do is go with Bitnami hosting. They will spin up your Limesurvey instance and you probably don't have to do much more than what you did on your Macbook.

But running the survey from your MacBook via the internet, while not impossible, is most probably quite complicated and will involve a lot of network configuration stuff, DNS, router configuration and your MacBook would have to run 24/7. You probably need also a fixed IP for your Internet connection, which can be quite expensive. Webspace you can get for 5-10 Dollars per month.